Magnitude (Part III) ended on a cliff-hanger about us finally realising how to make the potentially dry, scientific, educational concept of Magnitude the basis for a game that is genuinely fun.

We spent literally months trying to find that solution, in the process questioning everything EXCEPT the fact that we were making a game to help children with Down's Syndrome to get better at maths.

At one point, we toyed with the idea that the magnitude choice could function like a kind of digital dice roll. But the thing about a dice roll is that it makes the player passive, reliant on chance or luck.

Whereas what we wanted to do was empower our players.

And therein, finally, lay the answer - in that simplest expression of our aim.

The magnitude choice had to carry agency, and it had to be linked to something the player wanted to achieve. Therefore it had to be a tool.

Suddenly the floodgates of our creativity were opened, and very quickly we had a terra-forming alien girl scout called Millie Moreorless exploring the outer frontiers of the unknown universe.

But more than that, we knew we had a game mechanic that was rock solid - and, in the context of our aim, correct.

Something beautifully simple that we can all believe in, players and designers alike. The trick now lies in its execution...